Do you think invisible dog fences really work?

[LadyEmeraude]

...

 

[Knight]

Probably best on invisible dogs.

 

[oldman]

They seem to in my neighborhood.

The one neighbor that moved into the neighborhood about 4 months ago has two Great Danes. One is all black and the other is black/white.

When I would jog past them, the one dog (black) would jog alongside me. After the Invisible fencing was put up, he stays away from the curb by at least 6 feet. I think he’s mad because he can’t jog with me. He barks until I am out of his sight. I have never seen the owner of the house outside. The dogs are friendly, so I carry a treat with me that is grain free. I throw them one piece each when I jog by and they are outside. There is another dog farther down the road that I also give a treat to. I spoke with the owner and she is OK with me doing that. That dog is a beautiful Golden Retriever. She is very gentle.

 

[Lewkat]

Yes they do. We have one and it works like a charm.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

Yes they work. They work by giving the dog a ‘shock’ through its collar.

 

[jhummel73]

They can work. In my current situation, they don't. Much depends on the dog's coat, and of course training. If the dog has a thick heavy coat, it is difficult for the collar electrodes to remain close enough to be effective.

 

[Della]

I had an awful experience with one. My neighbor's Schnauzer and I were friends. One day I was in the back yard when she saw me and ran to me. Suddenly she was screeching and jerking, I didn't know how to help her, the neighbor woman started yelling at me to make it stop. Then the woman ran over, picked up her dog, did something to the collar and it stopped. Then she explained to me that they had put in an electric fence and the jolt came through the collar. Okay. The dog and I were forever traumatised.

 

[Lawrence00]

Used one years ago. It mostly worked but if the dogs wanted to chase something they made the decision to take the electrical hit for a second, while they ran past the wire at full speed.

 

[Messy]

I didn't know it existed.

 

[Jocko]

My parents used one on me except a little different. You see if I wandered too far I got a switch. Ouch!!

 

[RambleTamble]

There's a house a few blocks away has an "invisible fence." The two dogs in the yard look really confused and they barely move away from the back door of the house. They obviously don't understand why they're getting shocked or how to control it, so they feel helpless.

Learned helplessness is one definition of depression. Martin Seligman did that famous experiment with dogs back in the '60s where he came up with his theory. Such an experiment would be illegal today but his findings have been used in treating depression.

 

[OldFeller]

To tell you the truth, I can't see them working.

 

[Michael Z]

The wire type fence does work, provided there are no breaks in the wire. We use the PetSafe product to contain our dogs in an area that is about 1 full acre. Lots of wire! Our dogs know the boundaries well and stay off the road and neighboring property. At first I put the collars on tight so they get trained in. But once they learn the boundaries, they back off when they hear the warning beep - so we can then keep the collars very loose.

But what can happen are breaks in the wire. And for us, that usually happens in the middle of winter when snow and ice bear down on the wire, or mice decide to snack on the wire coating during the long winter under the snow. So what I do is have a an extra set of wire to run over the top cause finding the break is virtually impossible until all snow and ice is gone.

There are wireless systems with flexible boundaries, but are very expensive and require a monthly subscription. The wireless circular boundary would not work for us at all.

 

[jujube]

One problem is that the dog might get excited enough to go right past the electric fence point but be scared to come back over it into the yard.

Also, it doesn't keep out other dogs, who might come into the yard and attack your dog.

 

[katlupe]

I don't know much about them. But I once stayed at a Bed & Breakfast and they had a little dog who followed us around everywhere we went. When we went out of the yard he stopped right there and waited for us to come back. So I guess it worked it pretty good for him.

 

[Sunkist]

Yes they work. They work by giving the dog a ‘shock’ through its collar.

And it is cruel.

 

[againstthegrain]

One problem is that the dog might get excited enough to go right past the electric fence point but be scared to come back over it into the yard.

Can confirm.

 

[Michael Z]

One problem is that the dog might get excited enough to go right past the electric fence point but be scared to come back over it into the yard.

That is definitely an issue. So we keep the dogs in for anything that might prompt this. For example, if I am alone in the house and drive off, my dog will bust through for fear of being left alone. Or if my wife is walking by the house with her friend on the road, our dog might bust out. Otherwise, they do not go past the boundary.

 

[Michael Z]

And it is cruel.

Not as cruel as getting hit by a car, attacked by a predator, shot by a neighbor, or locked or chained up all the time. And the training period is short and after that you can turn the shock off.

 

[Nathan]

...never saw one.

 

[Sunkist]

Not as cruel as getting hit by a car, attacked by a predator, shot by a neighbor, or locked or chained up all the time. And the training period is short and after that you can turn the shock off.

If it's necessary to let dogs run, owners can use an ACTUAL fence that DOES NOT shock the dogs!!!!

 

[GoodEnuff]

it doesn't keep out other dogs, who might come into the yard and attack your dog.

This ^^^.

 

[old medic]

To tell you the truth, I can't see them working.

I'll tell you the truth.... THEY DO.... for most dogs. We had them for years at 2 different homes.
Like Micheal Z said you wire the perimeter and then there is a learning period. We had a couple acres wired. Ours had flags to show the boundary so the dogs can see it to begin with. Get close and it gives a warning vibration. get closer and it shocks...
And I mean SHOCKS... I was changing a battery in one next to the control unit and for some reason it decided to let me have it...
Ever touch an electric fence???? It lit me up, my hand contracted and I had to run away to get it to stop.... After some time many dogs know the perimeter, and you can take the collar off.

But we had that one dog.... every couple days we would hear her barking and whining outside boundary... take the collar off and she would just walk in the yard... Finally caught her trick... she would walk up to the boundary till the collar started vibrating..... then back up, getting a running start and jump right at that point sailing over the boundary and hit the ground running.
After that we would bring a leash and drag her over the line yelping.... think that fixed her....
NOPE... Damn dog would see you coming with the leash and she would bolt and jump back in the yard...